Recommended Reading
Russia Stalls on Inviting Elections Monitors
The Agence France-Presse reported on October 18th that election monitors have yet to receive an invitation to observe the upcoming Russian Parliamentary elections in December. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also noted that starting this late in the game could cause problems for its efforts. The article quoted Urdur Gunnarsdottir, spokeswoman […]
Oct 19, 2007 | Continued
St. Petersburg March Scheduled
On November 25th, a Dissenter’s March will once again be held in St. Petersburg. As we reported earlier, the executive committee of the Other Russia took the decision to hold opposition rallies in the run up to the December Parliamentary elections. The St. Petersburg Opposition Coordinating Conference has decided to uphold the Other Russia initiative. […]
Oct 19, 2007 | Continued
Court Rules In Favor Of Illegal Confinement
On October 17th, a Murmansk court refused to accept a complaint from psychiatric prisoner Larisa Arap, which would condemn the court order that sanctioned her illegal incarceration. The news agency Sobkor®ru learned of the incident from Elena Vasilyeva, the head of the Murmansk office of the United Civil Front. Earlier in the day, Arap had […]
Oct 17, 2007 | Continued
How Many Rubles Is a Vote Worth?
Vremya Novostei reported on October 16th that the Central Electoral Commission has practically given permission for political parties to buy votes, as long as the sum doesn’t exceed 400 rubles. Part two, chapter 62 of the electoral law forbids parties to “carry out bribery of the voters,” “to present them with monetary means, presents or […]
Oct 16, 2007 | Continued
Art Blocked On Its Way To France
Paris won’t get the chance to see two policemen kissing. The opening of a Paris exhibition titled “Soc-Art: Political Art in Russia since 1972,” on loan from the Tretyakov Gallery, will with all likelihood open as expected on October 20th. As Kommersant reported on October 9th, the art-laden trucks have already passed customs, and left […]
Oct 16, 2007 | Continued
Speaking Event Hijacked With Toxic Chemicals
On October 12th, the evening before Boris Nemtsov’s visit to Vladivostok for a scheduled appearance, unknown individuals entered the empty conference room, and coated all the seats with an as-yet unidentified liquid. Sources reported that as result, the building was filled with an incredible acrid stench, and the upholstery on the furniture began to run […]
Oct 15, 2007 | Continued
A New Means of Censorship
In the Russian region of Bashkortostan, the sole independent newspaper is becoming harder to find in stores. Novaya Gazeta reported on October 13th that the “Ufa Meridian,” which publishes out of the regional capital of Ufa, is facing not-so-subtle moves from above that amount to a new form of censorship. Rather than direct confrontation, the […]
Oct 15, 2007 | Continued
March of the Discontented Continues
On October 12th, the executive committee of the Other Russia took the decision to resume its series of “Dissenter’s Marches” (also known as “March of the Discontented”). These mass-scale demonstrations, where thousands of citizens took to the streets to stand up to the Kremlin’s push toward authoritarianism, were held across Russia’s major cities from December […]
Oct 14, 2007 | Continued
A Hidden War Within Russia’s Security Agencies
There is a war brewing among the high ranking officials of Russia’s secret services. Unattended by Parliamentary oversight or responsibility to anyone but the president, major security agencies, including the FSB, the FSKN (the Federal Narcotics Control Service), and the Office of the Prosecutor, are fighting amongst themselves for greater powers. The latest scandal is […]
Oct 12, 2007 | Continued
Inflation Jumps to Double Digits
On October 5th, the Russian Statistics Committee (Rosstat) dropped a bombshell announcement. According to the organization, inflation rose eight times higher in September 2007 as the same month last year, at .8% instead of .1%. These figures largely undermine the stable rate of inflation of past years, and mark the first time that the inflation […]
Oct 12, 2007 | Continued